Soy Helps Shield Asian-American Girls From Breast Cancer

Asian-American women who consumed high amounts of soy during childhood appear to have reduced their risk for breast cancer, a U.S. National Cancer Institute study has found.

The study included women of Chinese, Japanese and Filipino descent living in California or Hawaii.

"Historically, breast cancer incidence rates have been four to seven times higher among white women in the U.S. than in women in China or Japan," Regina Ziegler, a senior investigator in the cancer epidemiology and genetics division at the cancer institute, said in an agency news release.

The researchers interviewed 597 Asian-American women with breast cancer and 966 healthy women. When possible, the women’s mothers also were asked about their daughters’ soy consumption in childhood.

The study found that high soy intake during childhood was associated with a 58 percent reduced risk of breast cancer, whereas high soy consumption during adolescence and adulthood was associated with a 20 to 25 percent reduced risk.